Mandela on the mend

JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela is comfortable and breathing without difficulty on his third day in hospital after the anti-apartheid hero was treated for pneumonia, South Africa's presidency says.

Messages of concern for the ailing 94-year-old have poured in since his admission late on Wednesday for what was confirmed as "a recurrence of pneumonia".

Mr Mandela had a build-up of fluid that had developed from a lung infection, known as a pleural effusion or "water on the lungs", drained from his chest.

Nelson Mandela ... South Africans are coming to terms with his mortality. Photo: AFP

"This has resulted in him now being able to breathe without difficulty," President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement on Saturday.

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"He continues to respond to treatment and is comfortable."

On Friday, Mr Mandela was said to be in good spirits and making steady progress.

"He sat up and had his breakfast in bed," Mr Zuma's spokesman Mac Maharaj, who was jailed with Mandela during apartheid, told AFP.

There were no details on Saturday on how long he would remain in hospital, or where he was being treated.

Mr Mandela's recent health troubles have triggered an outpouring of prayers, but South Africans are now coming to terms with the mortality of the revered Nobel Peace Prize winner.

It is the second time this month that Mr Mandela has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for check-ups on March 9.

That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December, when he was treated for another lung infection and underwent gallstone surgery.

He was diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis in 1988 during his 27 years in prison under the apartheid regime and has long had problems with his lungs. He has also had treatment for prostate cancer and has suffered stomach ailments.

While Mandela's legacy continues to loom large over South African politics, he has long since exited the political stage and for the large young population he is a figure from another era, serving as president for just one term.

He has not appeared in public since South Africa's football World Cup final in 2010.